2010.10.24: Dr. James Pressler and his wife, Kathleen go back to Malawi
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2010.10.24: Dr. James Pressler and his wife, Kathleen go back to Malawi
Dr. James Pressler and his wife, Kathleen go back to Malawi
When Dr. James Pressler and his wife, Kathleen, first arrived in Malawi as Peace Corps volunteers in January 1967, they had been married for just two months. The couple - Dr. Pressler was 23 and his bride 22 - embarked on the trip with newly minted college degrees from Catholic University in Washington, D.C., and full of "Kennedy idealism," said Kathleen Pressler. "We were children of Irish immigrants who grew up in working-class families,"said Pressler, 65, who is now a professor in the Department of Human Services at Westchester Community College. "And we were very influenced by JFK and his call to action." For two years, the couple worked in a health clinic in Edingeni, a tiny village in the impoverished African country, doing immunizations, counseling on nutrition and opening a maternity ward with the help of the villagers and fellow Peace Corps volunteers. "The experience informed my life," said Pressler, who chose to make social work her vocation. Her husband, a history major in college, went to medical school and completed a pediatric residency in social medicine and a fellowship in ambulatory pediatrics.
Dr. James Pressler and his wife, Kathleen go back to Malawi
Pleasantville couple, former Peace Corps volunteers, go back to Malawi
By Swapna Venugopal Ramaswamy • svenugop@lohud.com •
October 24, 2010
PLEASANTVILLE - When Dr. James Pressler and his wife, Kathleen, first arrived in Malawi as Peace Corps volunteers in January 1967, they had been married for just two months.
The couple - Dr. Pressler was 23 and his bride 22 - embarked on the trip with newly minted college degrees from Catholic University in Washington, D.C., and full of "Kennedy idealism," said Kathleen Pressler.
"We were children of Irish immigrants who grew up in working-class families,"said Pressler, 65, who is now a professor in the Department of Human Services at Westchester Community College. "And we were very influenced by JFK and his call to action."
For two years, the couple worked in a health clinic in Edingeni, a tiny village in the impoverished African country, doing immunizations, counseling on nutrition and opening a maternity ward with the help of the villagers and fellow Peace Corps volunteers.
"The experience informed my life," said Pressler, who chose to make social work her vocation. Her husband, a history major in college, went to medical school and completed a pediatric residency in social medicine and a fellowship in ambulatory pediatrics.
Early this month, the Presslers went back to Malawi, after 43 years and just a year before the volunteer organization's 50th anniversary, to explore the possibility of Pressler's students at WCC experiencing some of what influenced them so greatly.
Currently on a sabbatical from WCC, Pressler is working on creating a five-week "study abroad" program that would take students to Malawi. The students would learn about human service delivery in that country while also volunteering at local nongovernmental organizations, including orphanages and health clinics.
"We are becoming a more global society, and looking at delivery of services can give them a better perspective on the world," said Pressler, a Pleasantville resident and a mother of two grown children.
Pressler envisions the program as a service learning opportunity to become familiar with what's happening in the developing world.
"It's influenced by the Peace Corps mission," said Pressler, adding that the idea was still in the planning phase. "I don't have any approvals from the college yet."
Apart from making them cry a few times, Dr. Pressler, 67, said going back to Malawi had given him a renewed sense of "gotta bust out of this," meaning his routine back at home, and a desire to give back.
After starting his career in pediatric residency in social medicine - a program that encourages practicing in urban areas - at Montefiore Hospital in the Bronx, Dr. Pressler spent three years working at the Bronx Municipal Hospital Center.
He eventually moved to Westchester, working with various medical groups until 2004.
For the past six years, Dr. Pressler has been working at Settlement Health & Medical Services, a community health center in East Harlem.
"I have just a few more years to practice, and going to East Harlem is like going back to my goal," said Dr. Pressler.
Kathleen Pressler spent 14 years as a social worker with the Student Assistance Services Corp. in Westchester County before joining WCC in 1998.
She was honored as Social Worker of the Year by the Westchester division of the National Association of Social Workers last year.
Judy Gordon, the chair of the Department of Social Work at the College of New Rochelle, who nominated Pressler for the honor, said she had the unique ability to motivate her students to pursue volunteer opportunities.
"It is not easy to motivate students to go out and spend their free time volunteering," said Gordon. "But she has done it for many years."
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Headlines: October, 2010; Peace Corps Malawi; Directory of Malawi RPCVs; Messages and Announcements for Malawi RPCVs; Return to our Country of Service - Malawi; New York
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